China’s July export growth slowed slightly but remained resilient, driven by strong demand for high-tech goods and strategic industrial shifts amid rising tariffs and global disruptions.
China’s export engine lost a little momentum in July, but the monthly figures still undershot many forecasts only modestly because demand for high-tech goods remained strong. According to customs data reported by Fortune and AP, exports rose nearly 24% from a year earlier, slower than June’s 27% pace, while imports increased 27.5%. The trade surplus narrowed to $112.5 billion from $125.6 billion in June, with typhoon-related port disruption helping to limit flows.
The clearest sign of where China’s trade strength now lies is in advanced manufacturing. AP said exports of high-tech products rose 41% in the January-July period from a year earlier, while vehicle shipments, many of them electric, climbed 55%. Exports of electronics and machinery increased 26%, reinforcing a broader shift away from low-cost assembly towards more strategic industrial output.
That shift is shaping the country’s global trade relationships. The Fortune report said exports to the European Union were up nearly 17% in January-July, while shipments to south-east Asia rose 25%, making the bloc China’s largest trading partner. At the same time, exports to the United States grew only 2.6% in the first seven months of the year after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese and other imports. Imports from the US rose just 1.4%.
The trade data also reflects pressures beyond tariffs. Capital Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard said in a report that elevated trade values were being driven by strong global demand for electronics and green technology, while the Iran war disrupted aluminium shipments from the Middle East and boosted Chinese exports of the metal. State media has pushed back against claims that China is exporting excess capacity, but foreign governments remain wary. The government’s own figures and July’s trade mix suggest that, for now, demand for semiconductors, vehicles and industrial components is still supporting China’s export growth even as barriers abroad rise.
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